Agent interworking protocol and call processing architecture for a communications system

Abstract

A call processing architecture treats a call connection as having two halves an originating half and a terminating half. An agent is associated with each call half, the originating agent being assigned by a switching center of a telecommunications system to establish the originating half of a call. The originating agent interacts with a translator and router to process the dated digits for a call to route the call to a terminating agent, the terminating agent establishing the terminating half of the call to complete the call connection. An agent interworking protocol (AIP) provides a generic superset protocol containing the common elements and unique elements for all call types so that an originating agent converts its call messages to the AIP and is connected to a terminating agent via an AIP connector, the terminating agent converting the AIP formatted call messages to the native protocol of the terminating agent. Agents for different call types are each able to convert call messages to or translate call messages from the agents's unique protocol to the AIP format and each type of agent does not need to know the type of agent being connected to as communication with other agents is via the AIP.

Description

The present invention relates to call processing in a communications system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a call processing architecture and a generic call message protocol for processing multiple types of calls.BACKGROUND INFORMATIONIn wireless communications systems, such as an Analog Mobile Phone System (AMPS) or a Global Standard for Mobile Communications (GSM) system, call processing includes call origination and termination. For example, a call originated by a wireless calling party to a wireline called party must be connected through a mobile communications network, such as a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), to a land-based communications network, such as a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). The setup of the call, however, often involves different types of calls (e.g., different trunking protocols such as GSM, ISUP, TIJP and R2) required to establish a call connection, each trunking protocol requiring a call state machine capable of originating...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Each call state machine can generate and communicate its own types of messages (e.g., call setup signaling) but the call setup messages for different call types are incompatible with the call setup messages of other call types.

A problem arises, however, in the interworking of the different external interfaces for different call types as the call signaling for each call type involved in establishing a single call connection may be unique and incompatible with other call type signaling.

Thus, in conventional communication systems, each agent (whether a single agent for all call types or a separate agent for each call type) requires knowledge of each call type handled by the communications system, thereby adding complexity to each agent as well as presenting integration and maintainability problems as more call types are added to the communications system.

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